The nurse’s office at Fannett-Metal Elementary School in Willow Hill, Pennsylvania, could be any clinic or doctor’s office in a small town. It’s where health care is practiced and lived every day by people like Laura Jones, ’25, a Slippery Rock University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in nursing.
Jones epitomizes the values of health care workers, what it takes to persist and thrive in the field and the personalized attention that they provide for people in their communities.
Jones epitomizes the values of health care workers, what it takes to persist and thrive in the field and the personalized attention that they provide for people in their communities.
There is a great need for many different health care professionals, but the need for nurses is particularly acute. Pennsylvania is facing a critical shortage of nurses, with recent reported vacancy rates of 30% for registered nurses who provide direct care, and an anticipated shortfall of more than 20,000 RNs in the state by 2026. These statistics are among the highest in the nation.
“There are vast opportunities in health care — people are living longer, but there are more chances of them being sicker — and we really need people for these jobs,” Jones said. “We all hope to be in the best health, but someday everyone is going to need others to step up.”
